Cotton gin



Sept. 26, 1939. A T E 2,174,143

COTTON GIN Filed sei t. I, 1937 17 a5 5 I 07% S Patented Sept. 26, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE COTTON GIN poration of Texas Application September 1, 1937, Serial No. 162,050

7 Claims.

The present invention relates to cotton gins and more particularly to improved means for increasing the moting and effectively cleaning the cotton in air blast gins.

An important object is to. provide a revoluble single wing sweep or brush arranged periodically to be brought into wiping engagement with a mote control board during the operation of the gin for the purpose of removing materials that adhere to the mote board and which if allowed to accumulate thereon, would seriously impair the efliciency of thegin.

A further object consists in combining a rotary sweep with an adjustable mote board in order to provide simple, eflicient and positive means for insuring perfect control of the motes and for eliminating the troubles usually caused by damp, wet and stringy material collecting on the mote board.

Another object comprehends the associating with the revoluble sweep and the adjustable mote board, a suction conduit ,for drawing the motes and fine trash away from the gin saws and the mote board.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying claims and drawing.

Referring to the drawing in which is disclosed a preferred embodiment of the invention;

Figure 1 is a vertical sectional view of a portion of a cotton ginshowing my invention associated therewith; and

Figure 2 is a sectional view taken substantially along the line 22 of Figure 1 and shows a battery or series of gins constructed in accordance with the invention.

Referring to the drawing in which like nu merals designate like parts in the several views, l indicates the housing of a cotton gin of any well known and standard construction. Pivotally connected to the housing as at H, is a gin breast I2 in which is mounted a shaft [3 on which the gin saws I4 are non-rotatably secured. Gin ribs 15 carried by the breast l2 are associated with the saws so that the cotton as it is fed into the gin is caught by the gin saws and carried between huller ribs (not shown) and moved up into the roll box Hi from where it is gradually engaged by the saws and carried past the gin ribs I5 so as to remove the seeds from the lint in the usual manner.

An air blast conduit l'l extends into the gin and communicates through the passage l8 with a nozzle I9 which directs a strong blast of air downwardly adjacent the teeth of the saws to doff the lint clinging thereto and also blows the lint from the saws into the lint duct 20 from where the same is carried to a condenser or to any other suitable point as may be desired. As the cotton 5 is pulled or drawn through the gin ribs by the saws, the strong, healthy seeds are stripped back but the premature seeds or motes are pulled through the ribs and must be separated from the lint; otherwise the lint drawn into the chute 25, 10 will be damaged by the presence of the premature seeds.

In order efiectively to remove the motes from the lint prior to the discharge of the lint into the chute 2B, the mote chamber 2| has mountedtherein adjacent the teeth of the saws I4, an adjustable mote control board 22. This board is keyed or fixed to a rotary shaft 23 extending transversely of the gin and is movable relative to the gin saws 14 by a link 24 fastened at its lower end to the adjacent outer end of the shaft 23 so as to be disposed outside of the gin. The upper extremity of the link 24 is connected to an operating rod or rack bar 25 as at 26. The underside of the rod 25 has spaced notches 21 arranged 2 selectively to engagea latch bar 28 for controlling the adjustment of the mote board 22 relative to the gin saws and may be conveniently actuated by a handle 29. It will be seen that the adjustable mote board prevents the motes and other 30 like chaff from being drawn back towards the saws by the suction induced by the nozzle l9, thus the motes are precluded from being mixed with and contaminating the ginned lint as the latter is withdrawn from the gin through the duct 20. The operation of the adjustable mote board is generally similar to the means for actuating the mote board disclosed in my Patent 1,962,332, dated June 12, 1934.

Extending transversely through the mote chamber 2| is a revoluble shaft 30 which is journaled in bearings 3! secured by the bolts 32 to the inner opposed side walls of the gin. Keyed or otherwise fastened to the shaft 30 within the chamber 2| are spaced radial arms 33 to which is removably connected a wiper carrying member or block 34 by the threaded bolts 35 and the nuts 36. The member 34 has extending outwardly therefrom towards the gin saws, bristles 3'l which are rather long and stiff, so as to yieldably engage the adjacent surface of the mote board when the latter is moved either forwardly towards the saw or moved away therefrom. Thus, the bristles Bl constitute a single wing sweep or brush which extends the full length of the gin. The shaft 30 extends outside of the gin and at one end has a sprocket 38 connected by chain 50' to sprocket 39 keyed to shaft 40. The shaft 40 in turn is preferably connected to the driving means (not shown) which operates the gin saws and the other rotatable parts of the gin so that the sweep will be periodically brought into wiping engagement with the adjustable mote board during the ginning operation.

As shown in Figure 2, a battery or series of separate gins A, B, and C are arranged to be simultaneously operated. Accordingly, the shaft 30 extends from both sides of the gin A and has its inner end between adjacent gins provided with a flexible coupling shaft 4| for connecting the same to a wiper shaft 42 which extends through the gin B and which carries the sweep or brush 43. Similarly, the shaft 44 which extends through the gin C and carries the sweep 45 is connected to the shaft 42 through the rod coupling 46 so that the sweep extends the full length of the gins.

The mote chamber 2| in each gin is closed at its top by a plate 47 which communicates with a suction conduit or pipe 48 through the spaced openings 49. One end of the conduit 48 is closed as at 50, while its opposite end (not shown) is connected to a suction fan for the purpose of drawing air out of the mote chamber 2! through the holes 49 so as to create a draft to draw the motes and fine trash away from the saws l and the mote board 22.

When a series of gins are used, such as shown in Figure 2, the wing sweeps 31, 43, and 45 in adjacent gins are disposed diametrically opposite to one another so that the sweeps in adjacent gins will not pass the pipe 48 at the same time during the operation of the gin. The sprocket wheel 38 is preferably connected to the shaft 38 at the end opposite to that which the suction fan or air blast inlet is connected to the gins,

Ordinarily, the motes in the cotton are stripped from the seed and are thrown off into the mote chamber 2| so as to fall downwardly into a screw conveyor 5| which removes them from the gin. As long as the motes and the cotton are dry, nothing but trash and premature seed are moted off. However, where the cotton is heavy and damp, heavy flakes of this lint are thrown off by the saws, and it is therefore important that the mote board be adjustable to and from the gin saws in order to separate the lint which would otherwise be wasted.

If worms are mixed with the cotton to be ginned and are cut by the saws, the juice therefrom is thrown inwardly into the mote chamber, and if it falls on the mote board, this sticky substance if not wiped off, will dry and gum up the mote board and will also allow other particles of material to adhere thereto with the result that strings are formed which reach over the air nozzle 19 and start the gin to blowing the lint in all directions. By associating a rotary single wing sweep with the adjustable mote board 22, such wet substances that adhere to the board are removed before the same dries with the result that they may be readily removed without interfering with the efficient operation of the When the cotton to be ginned contains trash, shale, sticks, and other foreign matter maximum moting is desired and the mote board is moved up close to the saws by the actuation of the handle 28 and is secured thereto by reason of the locking engagement of the latch bar 28 with the adjacent notch 21. On the other hand, if the cotton is clean or of the long staple variety and heavy, the mote board is moved rearwardly away from the gin saws to its dotted line position (Figure 1) so that less moting is done. Thus, it will be seen that the moting may be controlled depending upon the quality or grade of the cotton being ginned, so that no trouble or damage is produced when ginning damp, wet, stringy material by having the same accumulating on the mote board. Further, by providing a single wing sweep or brush for each gin which is mounted in the mote chamber at a suitable distance from the mote board so as not to interfere with the moting at any point where the sweep may be located in its rotary travel during the operation of the gin, the motes will be deflected downwardly and as the sweep touches the mote board, the motes will be thrown rearwardly away from the gin saws and will not obstruct the moting. As shown, the single sweep is arranged to rotate counter-clockwise but may be efliciently operated when rotated in an opposite direction and is an improvement over the reciprocating manually operating sweep covered in my Patent 2,072,319, dated March 2, 1937.

The association of the suction pipe 48 with the mote chamber for drawing the motes and fine trash away from the saws and mote board provides means which further co-act with the revoluble wiper for insuring the discharge of the motes to the conveyor 5| and which prevents the same from mixing with the lint and being withdrawn therewith through the lint chute 20.

The suction pipe or wind box 48, it will be noted, is located on top of the gin and to the rear of the mote chamber 2| so as to create a suction stronger than any induced suction set up by the air flowing from the nozzle l9 past the saws l4 and into the lint flue 20. This stronger suction through the pipe 48 causes the fine trashy light material todrift towards the rear of the mote chamber so as not to be within reach of the suction created by the air passing into the lint fiue 20. In actual practice, it has been found that the jet action of the air as it passes from the nozzle l9 into the passage 20 creates a suction in the mote chamber, which if not counteracted or neutralized, interferes with the moting of the fine trash motes. In other words, the fine motes while initially thrown over the mote board, if they are subjected to the suction created by the air passing into the lint duct 20, will reverse their direction and be drawn into duct 20 to mix with the lint therein. The heavier motes on the other hand are too heavy to be drawn back by the induced air current and fall into the bottom of the mote chamber where they are removed from the gin by the conveyor 5|. In order to prevent the mixing of the fine motes with the lint in the duct 20, the wind box 48 is located to create stronger suction than that set up by the air nozzle l9, and thus provides means for setting up a natural drift of the fine trashy light material towards the rear of the mote chamber and out of reach of the induced air current through the nozzle [9 which otherwise would draw the fine motes back into the saws and into the lint duct 20.

The suction through the wind box 48 is not intended to remove the motes from the chamber 2! but is used primarily to counteract the induced air current passing from the nozzle I 9 into the duct 20 so that by the stronger suction created in the wind box, all of the fine trash is moved out of reach of the induced air suction in the mote chamber and is prevented from mixing with the lint in the duct 20. It will therefore be seen that the purpose of the wind box is to set up an opposing current in the mote chamber which neutralizes the suction created by the air flowing through the nozzle I9 so that the fine trash can fall of its own weight into the mote conveyor and mix with the heavier motes and not be drawn into the lint duct 20.

By locating the driving shaft 30 or axis of the sweep 2? away from the mote board 22, an increased opening is provided for the saws to throw the motes away from their teeth and for keeping the motes away from the lint.

Manifestly, the rotary sweep and the suction pipe may be associated with either a single gin or a plurality of gins in a top moting system for increasing the moting and effectively clean the cotton.

The side 52 of the mote board 22 is preferably concave so that its entire area will be wiped by the rotary sweep 3'! as the latter is moved across the same, thus insuring the removal of any particles of material that adhere thereto. The opposite side 53 may be straight and when in its extreme outermost position is spaced from the saw teeth to provide a passage for permitting the lint to discharge into the flue 2B. The upper edge 54 of the mote board is rounded so that the cotton will not catch thereon and clog the space between the board and the gin saws.

It is to be understood that the form of the invention shown and described is merely illustrative of a preferred embodiment and that such changes may be made as fall within the purview of one skilled in the art without distinguishing from the spirit of the invention and the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

l. In combination with a cotton gin having a series of spaced mote chambers, a mote board associated with each of said chambers, a revoluble shaft extending transversely through said chambers, a single wing brush mounted on said shaft in each of said chambers and arranged periodically to be moved in engagement with the mote board, and a suction pipe communicating with each of the mote chambers for drawing the motes away from the mote board, the brush in each chamber being ofiset relative to the brush in the adjacent chamber so that the adjacent brushes do not pass the suction pipe at the same time.

2. In combination with a battery of cotton gins having separate mote chambers, an adjustable mote board associated with each chamber, a revoluble shaft extending transversely through each chamber, means operatively connecting adjacent shafts with each other, means for rotating said shafts, a single wing brush mounted on said shaft in each of said chambers and arranged to be brought in wiping contact with the mote board to remove materials adhering thereto, and a suction pipe communicating with each of the mote chambers through spaced openings, said pipe coacting with the brush for drawing the motes away from the mote control board, the brush in each chamber being oppositely disposed relative to the brush in the adjacent chamber so that the brushes in adjacent chambers do not pass the suction pipe at the same time during the operation of the gin.

3. In an air blast cotton gin, gin saws, a chamber for receiving the mote as it issues from the gin saws, a lint duct adjacent the saws, means for conducting an air blast downwardly adjacent the saws and into the lint duct, a mote control board in said chamber, a single wing sweep revolubly mounted in said chamber, means for continuously rotating the sweep during the operation of the gin saws to bring periodically the sweep in contact with the mote control board to remove the materials adhering thereto, a suction pipe positioned to the rear and above the air blast nozzle for setting up a suction pull in the mote chamber to counteract the induced suction of the air blast means, so that the motes will fall into the bottom of the mote chamber and thus be prevented from being withdrawn by the suction of the air blast means into the lint duct, and means spaced from the suction means for withdrawing the motes from said chamber.

4. In combination with an air blast cotton gin having a series of spaced mote chambers, a mote control board in each of said chambers, a single wing sweep revolubly mounted in each of said chambers, means for continuously rotating the sweep during the operation of the gin saws to bring periodically the sweep in contact with the mote control board to remove the materials adhering thereto, and suction means communicating with the mote chamber above and to the rear of the sweep for setting up a suction in the mote chamber for neutralizing any induced suction created by the air passing into the lint duct, so as to carry the light motes to the rear of the mote chamber and out of reach of the induced air current, the sweep in each of said chambers being offset relative to the sweep in the adjacent chamber so that the adjacent sweeps do not pass the suction means at the same time.

5. A top moting air blast gin including gin saws, ginning ribs, a mote chamber to the rear of said ribs, means for rotating the gin saws centrifugally to throw the motes from the saws into the mote chamber at a point adjacent the upper end of the ribs, an air blast nozzle below the point of discharge of the motes from the saws, said gin having a passage for receiving the lint removed from the saws by the air blast nozzle, suction means communicating with the mote chamber above and to the rear of the saws for setting up a suction pull in the mote chamber to counteract the induced suction of the air blast nozzle so that the motes will fall into the mote chamber, and thus be prevented from being drawn by the suction of the air blast nozzle into the lint passage, and means spaced from the suction means for withdrawing the motes from said chamber.

6. A top moting air blast gin including gin saws, ginning ribs, a mote chamber to the rear of said ribs, means for rotating the gin saws centrifugally to throw the motes from the saws into the mote chamber at a point adjacent the upper end of the ribs, an air blast nozzle below the point of dischargeof the motes from the saws, said gin having a passage for receiving the lint removed from the saws by the air blast nozzle, a suction pipe communicating with the mote chamber above and to the rear of the air blast nozzle and the saws for setting up a suction pull in the mote chamber to counteract the induced suction of the air blast nozzle so that the motes will fall into the bottom of the mote chamber and thus be prevented from being drawn by the suction of the air blast nozzle into the lint passage, and a conveyor in the bottom of the mote chamber for withdrawing the motes therefrom.

'7. A top moting air blast gin including gin saws, ginning ribs, a mote chamber to the rear of said ribs, means for rotating the gin saws centrifugally to throw the motes from the saws into the mote chamber at a point adjacent the upper end of the ribs, an air blast nozzle below the point of discharge of the motes from the saws, said gin having a passage for receiving the lint removed from the saws by the air blast nozzle, suction means communicating with the mote chamber to the rear of the saws for setting up a suction pull in the mote chamber to counteract the induced suction of the air blast nozzle so that the motes will fall into the mote chamber, and thus be prevented from being drawn by the suction of the air blast nozzle into the lint passage, 5 

